I am fucked, right? Me against the Home Office

[EuropeanBritInDespair]

Hello everyone,

I'm in a horrible situation. I have name changed for this.

I have dual citizenship. The first citizenship I acquired was when I was born in another European country. I also got British citizenship 18 years ago because one of my parents is British.
I have lived in the UK for many years.

Due to me having a British passport, I didn't apply for the EU settlement scheme.

Yesterday I received a letter from the Home Office informing me that I am an EU citizen and that I didn't apply for the EU settlement scheme. They told me that I have to apply within 28 days. Otherwise, I will lose all my rights in the Uk, among them my right to work and my right to receive free health care.
I tried to call them all day long on their hotline yesterday and todayto inform them about their mistake. I was kicked out of the hotline every time I called. Apparently, they are "too busy and there are no spaces left in the call queue". I even called first thing in the morning when they opened and I got this message. My partner also tried to call them and got this message.

I don't know what to do. I booked an appointment with an immigration lawyer next week to find out how I can defend myself and my rights.
I will also send a letter with recorded delivery tomorrow to their office with a copy of my British passport.

I'm honestly very terrified. I'm scared I will lose my job and be separated from my family.
On top of that, I'm almost 12 weeks pregnant and I'm worried I won't be able to access maternity appointments and give birth in a UK hospital anymore if I'm officially deemed illegal.
We also receive Tax-Free childcare and child benefit for our son. According to the letter, that will be stopped as well if I don't apply within 28 days.

I already see myself being arrested and detained for deportation.
I know I haven't done anything wrong, but I know my fate relies entirely on the fact if I'm able to get through and the goodwill of the home office employees.
The appointment with the immigration lawyer already cost me 150 pounds.
I'm feeling quite depressed and sad. I had a headache all day long and don't feel well.

Is there anything else I can do? I would be grateful for any advice x

I would absolutely contact your MP and get them to take it up on your behalf. If it doesn't get sorted ASAP, I'd make it uncomfortable and put on twitter, local paper etc.
Hope it gets sorted ASAP.

Contact your MP and ask for their help. They’ll get it sorted much quicker than you can.

You say you became a BC through your parents 18 years ago. Were you registered as a BC as a minor? (I am an ex Nationality Office employee)
Might there be confusion on how you obtained your BC status?

@EuropeanBritInDespair

What if they don't realize until it's too late that I have a British passport?

Of course, I will send them a letter with recorded delivery, but that doesn't mean that the letter will arrive in the right department/will be taken care of.

I could lose my right to work in the meantime.

I'm amazed that people on this thread have this implicit trust in the Home Office and that they will always do the right thing.

Windrush, anyone?

Sadly the victims of Windrush were not documented.

Documented British citizens cannot lose their right to work in the UK.

Might be a silly question but is your passport valid? It hasn’t expired? Not sure if that makes a difference.

@Twatalert

Just apply for the settlement scheme for your own peace of mind? I don't remember the process now but am pretty sure I has to submit a copy of my passport. Do this and then they will have it on file.

British citizens can’t apply for the settlement scheme, it is only for people who aren’t British citizens.

@burritofan

If you’re having no luck with the helpline try your local mp or councillor. This. Include your postal address when writing to your MP so they know you’re a constituent. Write: “Dear MP, I live in your constituency of X. I am a British citizen and passport holder with dual EU citizenship [enclose a copy], and I am pregnant. The Home Office has sent me this letter [enclose a copy], and their phone line is broken. I am scared for XYZ reasons. Please can you ask the Home Secretary why this applies to me. Sincerely etc”

(If you ask them to ask the Home Secretary they have to pass the letter on, you see, even if it’s replied to by a grunt worker.)

Also note in your email that you're happy for your email and contact details to be passed on to the home office otherwise the MP's office will have to write back to you to check.

I got a letter a few weeks before the deadline for applications to the EUSS. It sounded rather heavy handed. I too am a dual national by descent. Halfway down the letter there was a short sentence stating that if you are a British citizen you can disregard the letter. Are you sure your letter doesn't say something similar? I understand you are concerned, but they've made a mistake. None of the disaster scenarios you describe are going to happen. You are at 0 risk of being arrested, so to the posters discussing this

@Geamhradh

You say you became a BC through your parents 18 years ago. Were you registered as a BC as a minor? (I am an ex Nationality Office employee) Might there be confusion on how you obtained your BC status?

She's a British Citizen by descent she wouldn't have needed to register as a minor.

Honestly OP you have nothing to worry about.

@CakeandGo

Might be a silly question but is your passport valid? It hasn’t expired? Not sure if that makes a difference.

That would affect her ability to travel on it rather than her citizenship status, wouldn't it?

The problem with the Windrush people was that they came to the UK on BC-CUKC passports/BS passports. Their home countries then became independent and without knowing it, many of them lost their British Subject /BC-CUKC status upon being granted citizenship of their old country.
There was a (pretty rubbish) public information campaign and an amnesty for them to be registered as British Citizens by right in the late 80s early 90s. Unfortunately some of them never realised.
I was at university at the time and remember lots of scary "do this or be deported" posters. Then I worked for the HO granting the BC status to those who had requested it.

OP- your passport is not as relevant as how you acquired your BC status. Passports are obviously issued to BCs but sometimes are issued to people who have been erroneously granted BCship.

OP, I've had my own problems with the Home Office, so understand completely. But don't panic.

In the morning, ring your MP's office, and explain clearly to the person answering the phone. If it's an answerphone, leave a message, and follow it up with an email - put TIME SENSITIVE in the subject line. Also always include your postcode, as MPs won't deal with anyone who is not a constituent.

Take a photocopy of your British passport, and keep it in a safe place.

This is just a computer error. You have absolutely nothing to worry about.

@bambootortoise
Not necessarily. She said she acquired BC 18 years ago. That's why I'm confused. If she was a BC-D then she acquired that at birth. Unless of course she's 18 now and she is talking about when she was born.

@Ilovetoddlerssaidnooneever

I got a letter a few weeks before the deadline for applications to the EUSS. It sounded rather heavy handed. I too am a dual national by descent. Halfway down the letter there was a short sentence stating that if you are a British citizen you can disregard the letter. Are you sure your letter doesn't say something similar? I understand you are concerned, but they've made a mistake. None of the disaster scenarios you describe are going to happen. You are at 0 risk of being arrested, so to the posters discussing this

No, my letter says that if you are a British citizen or a British citizen with dual nationality you need to call them so that they update their records, ensure they won't contact you again, and won't take any further action with regard to any benefit payments you may be receiving

OP you're being a bit dramatic here. You can't compare this to Windrush, unlike in that case you actually have documentation, nothing is going to happen to you. Just write back with a photocopy of your passport, and try to keep calling them if you want to speak to someone quicker, once it's been acknowledged I'm sure it'll all be ticked off. But don't make yourself sick over it.

If you want to try to get a quicker response email the HO DPO and say you want your records rectified/corrected to reflect your dual citizenship, the information they currently have is wrong and you have a right to have it amended.

@SimonTJ you don't say! The point is to try and get to a stage where you submit your paperwork incl copy of passport. It will give OP a reference number and some track record in case the HO continues to mess up. If you read again I didn't suggest OP tries to obtain settled status. FYI paperwork will be reviewed, you are able to contact them and perhaps that could clear up the mistake. I know because my application was on hold until I submitted more info they requested. It really is a straight forward process and 28 days are plenty.

I don't know what "British citizen by descent" means.

My father is British. I received my British passport 18 years ago when I was a minor ( but not when I was born). I was born abroad.

Yes, your local MP is best route

You have replied, hope by recorded delivery. You should be covered but some people on here have not understood how pritti Patel scares people

When were you born and were your parents married?

Being born abroad to a British parent who was either born in the UK themselves, or naturalised, makes you a British citizen by descent.

If you had spent all your life abroad you would have had all the benefits of citizenship except being able to pass it on to your own children also born abroad. But as long as your DC were born here, they too are full British citizens.

The hotline is probably full because the home office are idiots and sent this letter by mistake to a bunch of British citizens.

Re maternity care, I’m also a dual citizen but hadn’t got my passport yet when I registered with the hospital. I got a bunch of texts telling me I’d have to pay for care (I didn’t have my ILR card either because I had to hand it back to become a citizen). I replied and basically told them I was British, sent a copy of my certificate and politely told them to F off. They did immediately.

I understand the threat of police is scary but they have MUCH better things to do.

Agree with PP to write to your MP and send the home office a letter, keep copies of everything etc but also know that really no one is going to come after you. They have super limited resources and there are WWAAAYYYYY easier targets.

[quote Geamhradh]@bambootortoise
Not necessarily. She said she acquired BC 18 years ago. That's why I'm confused. If she was a BC-D then she acquired that at birth. Unless of course she's 18 now and she is talking about when she was born.[/quote]
In my experience it usually means that's when they applied for a passport. If her father was British rather than her mother and they were unmarried and she was born before 2006 then yes maybe. Or if the parent became British after she was born while she was a minor. But none of this is relevant since she IS a British Citizen now and it's unbelievably unlikely the Home Office would ever revoke her passport.

So it doesn't matter. She British and her rights don't change no matter what letter UKVI send her.

@EuropeanBritInDespair

I don't know what "British citizen by descent" means.

My father is British. I received my British passport 18 years ago when I was a minor ( but not when I was born). I was born abroad.

Have a British parent and are born abroad, the only limitation is that you may not be able to pass British citizenship onto your child if they are born abroad.